There Is No Life After You
by darkwolf76
Summary: What if Matthew didn't die on the day of George's birth but someone else did... A 3x09 AU
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi everyone! I'm darkwolf76 and I've been a long time reader of fanfics in the DA fandom but have never attempted to write one before, so I have to admit I am quite nervous. I am going to warn you a head of time that while this is an M/M story, it does not have a lot of fluff in it and is quite dark. The idea just popped into my a while ago and wouldn't go away until I attempted to write it in the form of a story. I have never seen this AU route explored in a fic on this site and wanted to try it out. I hope you find it interesting at least and please leave reviews! I welcome any constructive criticism or comments you might have, but please, again keep in mind that this is my first DA fanfic and go easy on me! Thanks! **

**Disclaimer: The characters, settings, and events of Downton Abbey belong to Julian Fellowes and ITV and not me. Otherwise a certain two characters wouldn't have died…**

'_Why does Mary always have to be so stubborn and why do I always give in to her?'_ Matthew thought frustratingly. The wind tousled his blond hair as he sped along the road in his AC, rushing from the train station to the Downton hospital where his wife and child were waiting for him. _**He**_ should have been there waiting _**for Mary**_ so he could be there to see the baby right after it had been born. He should have come home from Scotland when Mary came home._ 'Mary and I shouldn't have gone to Duneagle in the first place'._ Matthew shook his head as he mentally chided himself for not being more firm with her when she had insisted they accompany the family up to Duneagle for their summer holiday and later when she had insisted she travel back to Downton early alone. '_But why am I worrying?'_ He thought chuckling to himself, pulling up next to Downton village's hospital. His child, _**his and Mary's child**_**, **had likely been already delivered, safe and healthy. Knowing Mary, she was probably impatiently wondering why it was taking him so long join them. '_Because my Mary's a storm braver, if there ever was one. And Mother was with her. Everything is just fine'. _Mary possessed more strength than most people, even most of her own family, gave her credit for, and Matthew's mother, Isobel, was a skilled nurse. Between her and Dr. Clarkson, the birth surely had gone smoothly. Matthew, now firmly self-assured and filled with the excitement of meeting his child for the first time, leapt out of his car and raced into the hospital to be with his family.

He walked quickly down the passage way to find what room Mary and their baby had been placed in and was greeted by Isobel Crawley, a sullen and empty expression on her face.

"Mother! How are Mary and the baby? Everything is well?" he asked eagerly with grin, his excited eyes flitting around. His excitement ebbed considerably, however, when he registered his mother's weary expression and hesitant silence. At second glance he noticed Isobel, though she was trying display a calm façade for her son, had red, glassy eyes, swollen almost as if she had been crying. She also seemed to be trembling slightly. He frowned, dismayed. '_The only times I've ever seen Mother cry was when Father and her mother died. The only time she's ever lost her composure like this is when someone's…_' He stopped mid-thought, so horrified by the possibility that he couldn't even bare to think it.

"Mother, what happened? Where are Mary and the baby?" he asked, his voice rising in panic. He _**knew **_something had gone horribly wrong when his mother looked back at him with a terribly sad expression and a single tear slid down her cheek.

"Matthew, you have wonderful baby boy who is sleeping right the hall. I'll have him brought out here in a couple minutes. But I need you to-"

"Mother, what's wrong with Mary? What happened? I want you to take me to her now!"

"My dear boy," Isobel pursed her lips into a firm, tight line, "Maybe we should sit down for a minute to-"

"Mother, where is Mary? I need to see her now! MARY!" Matthew shouted frantically, pushing past his mother. He rushed down the hall to the entrance of a room from which he heard the wail of infant emanate. He froze where stood in the door way and his knuckles turned white as he gripped the door post for support. His heart seemed to stop for a minute time as time stood still; he then let out his own wail of heart wrenching despair to match that of infant's as the sight of a cold, pale, and lifeless Lady Mary Crawley laying on the hospital bed greeted his eyes.

**TBC**

**A/N: Please leave reviews and let me know if there is something you would like to see in this story! And to those who have already left reviews and have marked this story with alerts, sorry if you thought I posted new chapter. I just edited this one. I'll try to have a new chapter posted in a week. Thank for all the support!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, followed, or favorited this story! A special thanks to **_**Orangeshipper **_**and **_**Apollo888**_** for helping me get past a bad case of writer's block!****I'm sorry that it took so long to update. I've just been really busy with school! Don't let me hold you up anymore with talking. I hope you enjoy the second chapter of **_**There Is No Life After You**_**. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, settings, or events from Downton Abbey. It would be very different if I did…**

Matthew frantically staggered up to the bed where Mary lay and grabbed her shoulders. "Darling, you need to wake up now! I'm here! Everything is just fine! Mary, please, you need to wake now darling. MARY!" The corpse shook limply under Matthew's exertions. Dr. Clarkson rushed up to him and tried to pry him away from the body.

"Mr. Crawley, please, Lady Mary isn't going to wake. This commotion will only serve to upset the other patients—"

Matthew violently flung Clarkson's arm off and looked at him with a fierce light in his eye. "DON'T YOU DO DARE TELL ME MY WIFE WON'T WAKE UP! SHE WILL WAKE UP! SHE IS JUST-"

"MATTHEW!" Isobel snapped at her son as if she was rebuking a young school boy again.

"Mother, she can't be dead. Everything was just fine…" Matthew trailed off as the world began to spin around him. He pinched the bridge of his nose as his mother scurried over to ease him down into a chair next to the bed. Isobel carefully appraised her son; he seemed to fall into a catatonic state. His listless blue eyes stared blankly into space as he reached out to grip Mary's limp hand in his own.

"What happened?" he asked in a monotone voice.

Dr. Clarkson cautiously said "Lady Mary was having some trouble delivering the child. We were able to get the child out safely but it seems the stress on the muscles caused internal bleeding. I did all I could to stop it, Mr. Crawley, but in the end she lost too much blood. I'm very sorry Mr. Crawley. If there is anything-"

"Please, if I could few moments alone with Mary, I would appreciate that."

"Of course," Clarkson nodded at the grieving man as he and the nurse cleared the room. Isobel lingered, looking at her son helplessly.

"Do you want me to stay with you and the baby?" She asked. Matthew looked up at her with what seemed like an expression of confusion, followed by one realization and then one of anguish. Tears started to fall from his eyes as he turned his gaze to the bassinet next to the bed. He got up from the chair and walked over where his son lay. He gently reached down to take the infant into his arms before settling back down into his seat by Mary's bed.

"No thank you Mother. I would like to spend some time alone with just my family before anyone else finds out. Then I'll go tell the others. They'll all be waiting back at Downton for the news." He stated huskily, looking down at his boy.

Isobel blinked to keep a second torrent tears at bay and placed a hand on her son's shoulder. "Don't worry about telling the others. I will take care of that and keep them at bay for a while. You just spend time with your family, my dear boy." She blinked again, wiped her eyes, and with a determined and resolute look upon on her face, she walked out to do what would to be one of the most difficult tasks of her entire life.

Anna stood outside the door to the room, her red eyes glistening with tears of her own, anxiously wringing her hands as Isobel came out. "How is Mr. Crawley, mam? Is there absolutely anything I can do to help?"

Isobel looked at the distraught young woman before her with a sympathetic expression and reached out to touch her shoulder. "He is taking it as well as can be expected my dear. There is nothing to be done right now but to give him time with her and their child. Why don't you come with me back to Downton? I have to tell the rest family and the staff the news and I know could use some help with that. It has been a long and horrific day for the both of us and I know that you were very close to Lady Mary.

Anna looked down at the ground and nodded in assent. "She was a very kind mistress and was my friend too." She gave Isobel a shaky smile and they walked quietly down the hall way to go the car that would take them to Downton.

* * *

Cora sat anxiously with Robert in drawing-room. "Why don't you think we've heard anything yet Robert? Surely by now… Something must have gone wrong! We would have heard from Isobel or Matthew or someone if everything had been alright! I can't handle loosing another daughter Robert! I wouldn't be able live through it again!" Cora started to descend into a fit of hysteria and hyperventilate as she imaged the worst possible outcome. Robert sat beside her on the sofa holding her hand and was just opening his mouth deliver reassurances to his wife when his mother beat him to it.

"Everything will be just fine my dear," the dowager countess stated with more confidence then she felt, "You know as well as I that child births can take time and are not to be rushed. Also, Mary is at the hospital in the hands of Dr. Clarkson and Isobel. That woman can be annoying at times but I know she is competent and will not let her grandchild or its mother come to any harm. Everything will be alright."

Carson then came in, trying his best under the circumstances to keep his usual stoic composure, and announced "Mrs. Crawley, your lordship." He glanced nervously at Mrs. Crawley as he made his way silently out of the room.

Everyone shot up anxiously from their chairs as Isobel entered the room, a neutral expression on her face. All eyes settled on her as Robert asked "Isobel, why are you here? Is everything alright? Why didn't you just call?"

"Robert, I-" Isobel paused, "I did not feel like I could tell you all over the phone what I am about to tell you. I am so, so, very sorry, but…"

"What!?" Cora screeched "What happened to my baby and grandchild?"

Isobel looked over at the desperate woman with stricken eyes, "I am so, so, sorry. Your grandson is absolutely fine, but… Mary… we did everything we could… but something during birth… there was just so much blood…"

"YOU ARE NOT TELLING ME YOU AND CLARKSON LOST MY DAUGHTER!" Robert roared with a thunderous expression on his face. "I DID EVERYTHING THAT YOU AND THAT MAN INSISTED SHE WOULD NEED TO BE PERFECTLY—

He stopped abruptly as his wife fainted and he had to move quickly to prevent her body from hitting the floor. Edith stood on the other side of the room in a state of petrified shock. Even Violet was speechless with a look of surprised horror on her face. Only Tom was able to address Isobel calmly. "Is Lady Mary dead Isobel?" Isobel nodded her head silently. Robert had gathered up his unconscious wife in his arms and now sat down in the same state of shock that the rest of his family seemed to be in. "Is there anything I can do to help? Where is Matthew?" Tom asked his eyes filled with concern. He knew the pain of losing one's other half all too well.

"He's with Mary and their son right now Tom," Isobel said in a whispered tone as she approached the young man, "He wants to be alone them a while before the rest of the family comes. If you could help hold them off and calm them even a little…"

"Of course," Tom nodded at Isobel.

* * *

Anna lingered in the hall way outside the drawing room waiting for Mr. Carson. She and Isobel had agreed that Isobel would go deliver the news to the family and she would tell Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes. Isobel had curtly asked Mr. Carson as soon as he had answered the door if he would just take her straight to where to family had gathered and leave them to have a private time. Anna would explain everything. Anna did her best to hide her grief and tears as the older man came out of the drawing-room staring worryingly at her.

"Anna, what happened? Lady Mary and the baby are fine, aren't they?" Anna stared at him helplessly. Lady Mary was like a daughter to him and what she was about to say would surely crush him.

"It was a difficult birth Mr. Carson. Dr. Clarkson and Mrs. Crawley did what they could and they delivered Lady Mary's son safely. But she had a lot bleeding and it was just too much." Any composure and restraint Anna had shattered and she released a sob. Tears streamed down her face as she sniffed "I'm sorry Mr. Carson, Lady Mary died."

Carson stood shocked and horrified for a moment before he crossed the hall to put a hand on Anna's shoulder as tears filled his eyes. "Well, Anna, then we must go inform the rest of staff. Let us go." He bit his lip to keep his own composure together as he led Anna gently down to servant's hall where the rest of the servants were gathered together, waiting for news of the birth. The crying woman immediately went into her husband's arms and started to cry profusely on his shoulder. Mr. Bates wrapped his arms around his wife reflexively but looked up at Mr. Carson in confusion and concern, as the rest of servants did.

"I have been given some news on Lady Mary and her baby," Carson announced shakily, "Happily her and Mr. Crawley's son has been delivered safely, but due to some complications during birth, Lady Mary had passed away."

"Is there anything we can do Mr. Carson?" Alfred asked.

"Only carry on Alfred. Mrs. Hughes, if you would please get out the black armbands for the staff to wear, and everyone please be sensitive of the family, as they will be entering a period of mourning. That will be all." Carson ended. He then quickly walked away to his office and firmly shut the door.

Mr. Bates looked at Mrs. Hughes with a sad expression and asked "Mrs. Hughes, I was wondering if I might take Anna to you sitting room for a few minutes."

The housekeeper nodded and replied "Yes, of course, take her in there for some privacy and let her calm her tears a bit." She watched as Bates took his sobbing wife into the room and then studied the rest of the staff. Everyone stood quietly with somber expression on their faces. She gave a weary sigh and went to see how Mr. Carson was. "Mr. Carson," she gently called as she pushed open the door to his office, "how are you?" The butler ignored her greeting; he sat at his desk with his head his hands and wept. She walked over, shutting the door behind her, and brought her arms around him in a gentle hug. He finally looked up at her with shining, puffy eyes and said "I'm sorry Mrs. Hughes… It is unseemly for me to carry on like this and I should be directing…"

"Mr. Carson," the housekeeper firmly stated, "You have just lost a girl who could have very well been called your daughter. You are allowed to cry." With that he just nodded and then continued to cry as Mrs. Hughes hugged him. Even her own eyes began to sting with tears. Mrs. Hughes may never had the same fondness for Lady Mary as Mr. Carson had, but for the young woman to die and leave behind a young husband and babe not even two years after her younger sister had, it was truly and utterly devastating.

* * *

Matthew sat holding his young infant son in one arm and reached out to stroke his dead wife's hair with the other. "He is beautiful my darling. He has my eyes just like you were hoping, but he has your hair. I think he will actually end up looking more like you, thank goodness." He gave a watery chuckle glancing at the little boy and set him on his mother's chest. "This is your mama, my dear little chap. Beautiful, isn't she? She is truly wonderful, little chap, even though she can't stay with us long." His lightly stoked the babe's head as he talked. "You might wonder someday why she couldn't stay with us, but I will tell you she loves you very much. She would have been wonderful mother, my boy, because she's a wonderful woman." He turned to look into Mary's glassy brown eyes and memories flashed through his mind. He remembered when those same brown orbs stared back at him with indignation and condescension at that dinner when she had essentially called him a sea monster, when they had stared at him with longing many times all throughout the war, and when they had stared at him with joy, adoration, and love as she walked down the aisle towards him on their wedding day. Now they were empty, lifeless. He slowly learned his face down next to Mary's and whispered on her cheek, "Even though you will be leaving us soon darling, I want you to know you will be my Mary always, and our son will know the true Mary, not Edith's version or anyone else's." He sat up and took his son, now sleeping, and placed him back in his bassinet. He stared at him for a long moment and looked back at his beautiful wife. He sat down next to her bedside again and took her hand his. "Do have any idea how happy you made me Mary? Without you how can I be happy?" He stared at her and waited in silence for a response that he knew would never come. He then leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her cold lips and whispered "I will always love you, my darling, and that love will continue to grow with every day that passes. I will love you until the last breath leaves my body."

**TBC**

**AN: Please read and review! I welcome any thoughts or opinions you have. Let me know if there is anything you would like to see in this story in later chapters. **


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hi everyone! Sorry it took so long to update. I appreciate everyone who took the time leave reviews, mark this story as a favorite or on their alerts, or even just to read this story. I thank you for the support and am very happy you have enjoyed it so far. I would like to address one of my reviewers in particular, and this person knows who they are. I understand your frustration as a reader at having to wait a while for an update to a story but you need to understand something. I am a student at a very good but hard university and have had several midterms and papers to deal with for the past month. On top of that, I recently received an injury that put me on crutches. All that has put under lot of stress and has not left time for much else. I am flattered that you love my story so much that you can't wait even a month for another chapter, but next time you leave a review, please use it as opportunity to give me feedback on my story and not as public chastisement. If you want to know when I'm updating, please just PM me. Now with that having been said, here is the next chapter of **_**Life After You**_**!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, settings, or events from Downton Abbey. If I did, the 2013 Christmas Special would have been a lot better…**

_"Darling, what do you think of the name George for the baby if its a boy?" Mary asked as she inspected her changing profile in the mirror and smoothed her dress over her baby bump. _

_Matthew rolled his eyes, but wore an expression of fond exasperation. "Mary, I thought we already talked about this. I don't want to name the baby after anyone. I don't want him or her to have anymore pre-determined labels or expectations put on them then there will already be."_

"_No, we talked about not naming the baby specifically after our parents or anyone in the family." _

"_But really darling, naming our son after the king? Don't you think that it defeats the purpose?"_

"_So you think George is bad name?"_

"_No, I-" Matthew stopped his argument of justification when he saw his wife's signature eye-brow raise grace her features. He knew her well enough to know arguing with her at that point would be utterly pointless. He pursed his lips and then looked back at his wife with a warm smile. "We have several months yet to decide. We don't even know if the baby will be a boy."_

"_I suppose your right, but I still like the name George for a boy." Mary stated, trying to maintain a look of stubborn indignation on her face as her husband wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and set his chin of her shoulder. _

"_We'll see darling," he chuckled, placing small kiss on her cheek before he stared into the mirror. The image within was one filled with hope for a bright future and a fulfillment of many yearning dreams of the past: a happy, glowing Mary, radiant with a growing belly containing their first child with Matthew blissfully hugging her and adoringly stroking her belly, the sign to come of devoted and loving father._

* * *

Matthew stood in the nursery staring blankly down at the baby resting peacefully in his crib. _'How could such a wonderful dream go so horribly wrong?' _he thought numbly. He couldn't believe that this little person would never know his mother, that his arrival that should have brought so much joy, was so surrounded by such darkness and sadness. The abbey had been cast in a feeling of miserable gloom ever since the family had brought the baby home the day before. Cora, who had turned into a hysterical wreck after see her daughter's limp body, had manically insisted Mary come home as well, one last time, to be with the family before she was taken away to be prepared for the funeral. Her arose the first point of conflict.

* * *

_The family had arrived at the hospital after a couple hours of Isobel and Tom managing to hold them off. Matthew had wrapped his son in his arms and had backed into a corner of the room to give the rest of the family some room to see their daughter and sister for the last time. Robert walked in, an emotionless zombie, still seemingly in perpetual denial that he had indeed lost a second daughter to the ravages of childbirth. Edith crept in, her eyes glazed over, caught in what seemed like a dream like state of horror. Lastly came Cora, sobbing hysterically on the shoulder of _the Dowager Countess. _Matthew, even though still caught in a state of overwhelming grief himself, could not help but feeling amazement and a new found respect for the old matriarch at that moment. Unshed tears revealed the deep grief and pain within her, yet the old woman wore a determined expression as she hobbled in to see her favorite granddaughter, firmly holding the hand of the hysterical mother beside her. None of them seemed to notice Matthew or the baby as they went straight for Mary, laying limply in the bed. Cora threw herself across her eldest child as she continued to sob hysterically. Edith gently picked up one her sister's hands as a flow of silent tears began to slip down her cheeks. The dowager countess simply sat in the chair Matthew had previously occupied and began to stroke Mary's hair and Cora's back in a display of tenderness and affection that he had never seen her exhibit before. Robert just stood there at the foot of the bed in the same state of emotionless shock that he had fallen into back at the Abbey. Isobel and Tom both just lingered awkwardly in the door way, dawning looks of heartfelt sadness and concern but not wanting to interfere. _

_Matthew, who had initially calmed down from the first torrent of grief stricken tears, found his vision blurring again as the sight of his wife's devastated family reinforced the fact that Mary was really dead and it wasn't all just a bad dream. His little son sensed his father's sadness and the unsettling atmosphere around him and let out a wail of his own. Robert snapped out of his trance for the first time and actually noticed his son-in-law and grandchild in the corner of the room. He walked over to Matthew, placed an arm around his shoulders, and looked down at the little child. "So I have my first grandson, but yet another grandchild who will no know their mother." He stared into Matthew's eyes forlornly, "I am so sorry my good fellow. I am so sorry." Then he broke down into tears on Matthews shoulder. This overwhelmed Matthew more than he could handle. He tensed for a second before breaking away from Lord Granthem and abruptly walking out of the room, his wailing son still clutched tightly in his arms. Tom and his mother followed him as he walked out into the yard. "Matthew, please my dear boy, the baby shouldn't be out here. Let me take him to calm him down and you come inside to Mary." Isobel gingerly touched her son's arms to remove the screaming infant, but he immediately he pulled away. _

"_No, I will not have him taken from me mother. I will not-"_

_A gentle hand touched Matthew's shoulder and the young man turned to look into a pair of terribly sad yet calming and firm blue eyes. "It's okay, Matthew, I'll take your son and make sure he's taken care of. I won't allow anything to happen him. I'll protect him with my life." Tom reached out for the baby and Matthew simply handed him over. Tom just exuded this trust, this understanding of all the emotions he was going through, and seemed what to know just the right way to act and what to say. He nodded slowly and reassuringly at Matthew as he received his nephew into his arms and once more patted Matthew's shoulder firmly before heading back into the hospital. "Do you want to come in dear boy?" Isobel asked her son gently._

"_I think I'll just stand out here for a few moments mother, if that's alright."_

"_Of course its alright__ Matthew! Just call for me if you need me though, and I will be here in an instant."_

"_I know mother." And there Matthew stood, in solitude in the hospital yard, staring up at sky with silent tears running down his cheeks as he studied the heavens, seemingly looking for an answer from God as to why this horrible tragedy occurred, when he heard commotion form inside. _

"_We have to take our baby home Robert! She loves Downton! We all have to go home before they take my baby away." Cora frantically wailed to husband as she still clung to her daughter's frame. Robert seemed frozen in a state of surprised and shaken shock, before numbly nodding and turning his head to a shocked Clarkson, "Yes, we need to take Mary home with us right now. She can't be taken away yet, she needs to-"_

"_Lord Granthem, she will brought back to Downton for the viewing, but surely you must see that Lady Mary's body must be taken away for preservation. Otherwise-"_

"_SHE WILL BE COMING HOME WITH US FIRST! DO YOU UNDERSTAND? SHE NEEDS TO COME BACK TO DOWNTON BEFORE-"_

"_No Robert. Dr. Clarkson is right. Mary's body needs to be taken away to be –to be … preserved. Then she can be brought back. I will not have my wife's body rot though." Everyone in the room shifted their gaze from a red faced Robert to the pale specter of Matthew in the doorway. _

"_Matthew, you can see Cora is devastated, and she is right. Mary needs to brought home to the place she has loved all her life one last time before-"_

"_No Robert. My wife's body will not be tossed around like some plaything and be defiled just because you and Cora are being_ irrational_. She will be taken from the hospital to be embalmed and then will be brought to Downton for the viewing and not until then."_

"_HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE MY WIFE AND I OF TREATING OUR DUAGHTER LIKE A TOY? I AM HER FATHER AND WILL SAY-"_

"_AND I AM HER HUSBAND ROBERT! I WILL SAY WHAT WE DO WITH HER BODY, NOT YOU. SHE IS _MY WIFE_**, **__APART OF _MY _FAMILY STILL. NOT YOURS."_ _With that Matthew had stormed out of the room without another look at Robert or his dead wife. He didn't think he could handle it._

* * *

Robert immediately had locked himself in his study because couldn't stand to be in the same room with Matthew since they had returned to the abbey. Cora had retired to bed, still hysterical about not being able to bring her baby home with her. The Dowager Countess had followed the sad specter of Edith into a different part of the house to grieve quietly with her last surviving grandchild.

Matthew had floated into nursery with his son, mother, and bother-in-law. The tired infant had been laid to rest and his father had elected to keep silent vigil over him. Tom had taken custody of his own daughter from nanny and along with Isobel had left after Matthew yet again requested privacy for himself and his child. Matthew continued to stare at the sleeping child, lost in thought for what seemed like hours before he heard a tiny knock at the door and the figure of Tom reappeared. The man silently walked in holding his sleeping toddler and set her down in her own crib before walking over to stand beside his brother-in-law, gazing down at his small nephew.

Matthew lifted his listless blue gaze to Tom and asked "How did you find the strength to go on Tom, after Sybil died? I feel like I've lost everything, practically my whole world. I can't picture a life without Mary: not waking up next to her in the morning, not having her by my side as the future countess as I save the estate for our son, our son…never knowing his mother."

Tom returned Matthew's gaze with a look of true sympathy and understanding that only one who had been in the same dark place a year before could have. "That little girl over in the other crib was the only reason I had strength to go on, Matthew, Sybil's little girl, and her memory. I had to carry on for her. I was the only parent she had left and even thought she was an infant, I couldn't leave _our _little girl without her father as well as her mother. I am not saying you won't feel pain and won't miss Mary, but you will find strength to go on every time you look at your son, your and Mary's son. When you look at him, you can remember her, and there will be times that he is the only reason you can, but you will carry on."

Matthew turned his weary eyes back to his son. "George," he whispered shakily.

"What?"

"His name is going to George. Mary wanted that to be the name of the baby if it was a boy. I didn't want it then, but now… I do."

Tom put a firm hand on Matthews shoulder once more. "I'm sure Mary would be thrilled. It's a fine name for a fine boy."

A ghost of a smile passed over Matthew's lips, and for the first time since descending into this hellish nightmare, felt a little bit of hope. "Thank you Tom, for understanding and being here. Thank you," he murmured quietly. The brothers-in-law then stood side by side in the nursery, keeping silent watch over their sleeping children, their minds wandering to the pair of high minded Crawley sisters that they had faced together in love, and now in loss.

**TBC**

**AN: Please read and review!**


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